Audience, Purpose and Perspective

Audience and Purpose

Keep in mind that every document was and is composed for a purpose. When we use critical thinking skills, it is important to consider the purpose for which a document was prepared.

Examples of this from history are these stamps produced in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Joseph Stalin era. Stalin had used these images to make himself look like he was a chosen confidant of Vladimir Lenin, the beloved leader of the Bolshevik Party and the creator of the Communist state in the country. Stalin used these images to give legitimacy to his rule and policies. In fact, we know that Lenin did not like Stalin at all and was rarely seen together with him.

A personal example might be if you were writing about your day at school. Depending on the purpose of your writing, you might write about your day entirely differently. In your personal diary, you might write in a much more open and unguarded style than you would in a text message to a friend. Comments in your diary are meant only for you, so your words might be blunt and descriptive, while your text message would be brief and more carefully considered. Your purpose in your diary is to get out all your feelings about the day without concern for what others may think; your text message relates only certain common events of the day.

Perspective

Everyone has a unique perspective in viewing the world around them. Artists and writers especially bring their own perspectives into their media, influenced by their culture and life experiences. These factors help to create their world view, which affects how they see the world.

For artists, this might determine the colours they choose for their subject material. Such is the case of the artist with this picture. His North American background is rooted in an industrialized and success-motivated culture obsessed with the demands of time and money. So, he chose to use chess pieces on a black and white board to show the challenge of moving our lives around on a very restricted space to try to balance the forces of time and money. Writers, too, are affected similarly in how they portray their world. So, in order to interpret historical documents and sources, it is important to consider perspective and potential bias.

Read Artistic Styles in the Course Reference Guide to improve your awareness of the role of art in historical documents.

Read How to Read a Picture to help improve your skills on critical viewing.